Dear
Alumnus,
As
your alumni association heads into the new
millennium and develops a new communications
strategy to meet your needs, we hope you
find this association update a welcome complement
to the quality content in FIU Magazine.
In these pages we hope to give you an update
on association news and happenings, provide
you with information on upcoming events,
respond to questions of interest and keep
you in the loop with developments as they
occur. As with the alumni newsletter, this
will help keep you connected to FIU today.
As we conclude the year with this new section,
be sure to make plans for the new year
join us for Alumni Homecoming 2001 on February
9-11. With activities planned for the entire
family, this is surely the time to reconnect
with memories of your college days and rediscover
the FIU of today.
We hope you enjoy this new feature; let
us know what you think. Best wishes for
a wonderful new year!
Carlos
A. Becerra
Interim
Director for Alumni Relations
FEBRUARY
FEBRUARY
HOMECOMING 2001
7 FIU
Baseball vs UM University
Park, Baseball Stadium - 7 PM
Come
kick off Homecoming festivities and enjoy
the inaugural game at the newly completed
FIU baseball stadium. The Golden Panthers
face their cross-town rivals the University
of Miami Hurricanes in one of the most exciting
games of the year. For tickets, call 305-FIU-GAME.
8 Alumni
Kick-off Reception - TBA
Kick back and enjoy a fun happy hour
event and meet other alumni at this annual
networking reception. There will be a drawing
to win exciting door prizes.
9 Homecoming
Golf Open Shula's
Golf Club, Miami Lakes - 7 AM
Tee
off with tourney host Florida Marlins' Mike
Lowell, and enjoy a morning of golf, networking,
and competition! Four person scramble. $150
pp; $600 foursome. For registration and
sponsorship information, call 305-FIU-ALUM.
10 Homecoming
Day Golden Panther
Arena, University Park The
University Park campus opens its doors to
all alumni and friends to celebrate Homecoming
2001. 4
PM - Homecoming Parade Come
early to save a seat for this exciting caravan
of student floats and marching bands.
5
PM - Touchdown Club BBQ Enjoy
a pre-game meal and get a taste of FIU Football
at the Alumni Association Tailgate BBQ.
$6 in advance, $8 day of event. 7:30
PM - FIU vs. New Orleans The
Golden Panther Arena will be packed to the
rafters as the men's basketball team faces
their opponent in the peak of the Homecoming
festivities.
11 Florida
Extravaganza Biscayne
Bay Campus, Kovens Center - 4 PM
Now
in its fifth year, this wine and food festival
will tantalize your taste buds and benefit
the School of Hospitality Management. Call
305-FIU-WINE for tickets.
MARCH
1 Alumni
Night at the FIU Miami Film Festival
Gusman Center for the Performing
Arts, Downtown Miami - 6 PM Join
other association members in a night of
film and fun. Reception to be held prior
to the screening and post-party at the Bailey's
Festival Club. Call 305-FIU-ALUM.
To
RSVP or for more information on all Alumni
Association activities, call 305-FIU-ALUM.
FALL
2000 X
Carmen
Argamasilla '87
Manny
García '90
Eric
Pfeffer '77
Iván
J. Parrón '94
Gabriel
A. Rincón-Mora '92
Gerald
C. Grant '78
Mary
Lou Pfeiffer '86
William
J. Keppler
Lillian
Lodge Kopenhaver
Butler
W. Waugh
X
FIUmagazine
Rachelle
H. Weiss '93
Jayne
Harris Abess '77
Marleine
M. Bastien '86
Allen
B. Susser '78
Carlos
B. Castillo '88
TORCH
AWARDS HONOR ALUMNI AND FACULTY EXCELLENCE
The
FIU Alumni Association recognized distinguished
alumni and faculty at the Torch Awards 2000
dinner and ceremony on November 29 at FIU-University
Park.
"The Torch Awards are named after the Torch
of Knowledge, which serves as a centerpiece
of University Park," said Carlos Becerra,
interim director of the FIU Office of Alumni
Relations. "We are pleased to bestow these
awards on members of the FIU family who
have made selfless contributions to the
University and the community."
The
Outstanding Achievement Awards were awarded
to Carmen Argamasilla '87, Manny
García '90 and Eric Pfeffer
'77.
Garcia is an investigative reporter for
The Miami Herald, and his work helped
lead a Herald team to a 1999 Pulitzer
Prize on voter fraud in Miami elections.
Argamasilla, vice president of corporate
communications at HBO Latin America Group,
is a role model for Hispanic-American women
who seek to succeed in today's multicultural
business environment. Pfeffer, chairman
and CEO of Cendant Corporation's Hotel Division,
is recognized as one of the world's leading
hotel executives.
The Charles E. Perry Visionary Award, named
after FIU's founding president, were presented
to Iván J. Parrón '94,
Gabriel A. Rincón-Mora '92 and
Rachelle H. Weiss '93.
Parron, president/CEO and founder
of Ritmoteca.com, revolutionized the online
music industry with a legal alternative
to Napster focused on Latin music. Working
hand-in-hand with record labels, Ritmoteca.com
has amassed exclusive rights to more than
250,000 songs by some of the most popular
Latin artists, including Marc Anthony, Celia
Cruz and the late Tito Puente. Rincon-Mora
is senior integrated circuit designer for
Texas Instruments and an adjunct professor
at Georgia Institute of Technology. At the
age of 28, he holds several patents and
has authored a widely used textbook. Weiss
is founder and president of Physicians Diagnostic
Systems. She has made critical health care
services available to Florida's rural and
low-income residents, while building her
business to more than $3 million in annual
revenues within three years of its inception.
The Community Leadership Awards were presented
to Jayne Harris Abess '77, Marleine
Bastien '86, and Allen Susser
'78.
Abess' commitment to the well being of her
community has been evidenced by hands-on
work, particularly for organizations that
seek to improve the health, education and
welfare of families in South Florida. She
is director of Community Relations for City
National Bank, chair of Goodwill Industries
of South Florida and past president of the
Junior League of Miami. Bastien is a political
activist and social worker and the founder
and president of Fanm Ayisyen Nan Miyami
(Haitian Women of Miami). Described as a
"voice for the voiceless," she has fought
to empower Haitian women. Susser is chef
and owner of Chef Allen's Restaurant and
has distinguished himself for his extraordinary
efforts on behalf of such causes as homelessness,
hunger relief and prenatal care.
The FIU Service Awards were presented to
Carlos B. Castillo '88, Gerald
Grant Jr., MBA '78, and Mary Lou
Pfeiffer '86.
Castillo, an attorney with White & Case,
LLP, worked tirelessly to promote the establishment
of the FIU College of Law, which was approved
earlier this year by state officials. Grant,
a regional vice president of AXA Advisors,
is a past president of the FIU Alumni Association
and a current member of its board of directors.
He initiated FIU's inaugural entry into
Miami-Dade County's annual Martin Luther
King Jr. Parade. Pfeiffer is a member of
the College of Arts & Sciences Dean's
Board of Advisors, where she has shown her
commitment to improving the academic unit
from which she earned her bachelor's degree.
In 1999, she made a groundbreaking gift
to the university the largest received
to date from an FIU graduate that
has allowed the college's Department of
Religious Studies to establish an endowment
in support of a new program in Native American
religions.
Outstanding Faculty Awards were given to
William Keppler, Public Health,
Lillian Lodge Kopenhaver, Journalism
& Mass Communication, and Butler
Waugh, English.
Keppler, a professor in the Department of
Public Health, exhibits great interest in
and concern for all his students, and for
the last seven years has led students in
feeding the homeless in downtown Miami.
Kopenhaver, a professor and associate dean
in the School of Journalism & Mass Communication,
has won numerous professional and service
awards and recently served as the national
president for the Association for Education
in Journalism and Mass Communication. Waugh,
a professor in the Department of English,
was tapped by FIU founding president Charles
E. Perry to help build the university. FIU's
first employee, Waugh served for five years
as the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences
before returning to the classroom and now
looks forward to assisting FIU in the organization
of its new Phi Beta Kappa chapter.
CAN
THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION HELP
ME LOCATE FELLOW GRADUATES?
Yes.
The Office of Alumni Relations, which provides
staffing support for the FIU Alumni Association,
will gladly assist you in the search for
former classmates.
If you are looking for a single, specific
individual, you can make an inquiry simply
by sending an e-mail message with your name
and contact information to alumni@fiu.edu
or by calling 1-800-FIU-ALUM (305-348-2568).
Keeping in mind that nearly 90,000 students
have graduated from FIU and that many share
the same or similar names, please furnish
as much information as possible about the
person you seek. At a minimum, supply the
individual's full first and last names and,
if known, the middle name or middle initial
that he or she used at the time of graduation.
Additionally, the year in which the person
graduated from FIU and the college or school
from which he or she received a degree would
be helpful.
Alumni Relations has a strict policy of
not providing personal information about
FIU alumni to anyone. Rather, the office
will forward your name and contact
information to the individual you wish to
find. It is then up to him or her to get
in touch with you.
If you are looking for several or more fellow
graduates, you should consider purchasing
the FIU Alumni Directory, which was last
published in 1997. The directory contains
biographical and contact information organized
in a variety of ways (alphabetically, by
college/school, by geographic location,
etc.) to maximize its usefulness. It is
available in either hardcover or CD-ROM
for $25 to members of the Alumni Association
and for $35 to non-members. Call 1-800-FIU-ALUM
(or 305-FIU-ALUM) to purchase a copy.
If you would like to inform other alumni
about your personal and professional achievements
in hopes of hearing from those with whom
you attended FIU, pass along your good news
to Alumni Relations by e-mail (alumni@fiu.edu),
by phone (305-348-3334), by fax (305-348-3636)
or by mail at University Park, PC 234, Miami,
FL 33199. This information will be published
in the Class Notes section of the Alumni
News, the Alumni Association's newsletter.
Photographs are welcome. (Please include
a self-addressed, stamped envelope for easy
return.)
Finally, for anyone who graduated in 1975
or 1976, Alumni Relations has devised a
special way to help you track down former
schoolmates. At the combined '75/'76 class
reunion reception planned for the week of
Alumni Homecoming 2001 in early February,
a "friend finder" system will be in place
to make the task a snap. To learn more about
the event, call 1-800-FIU-ALUM (or 305-FIU-ALUM).
FIU
